knives of ice wrote:firing Shero this season would be a huge huge mistake. he had one bad year. yes, his drafts haven't been the best but he has given this team an amazing roster to win with every year except this year.

there is no way you can fire the coach AND the gm and be ready for the draft/trades/ufa's. no way. the turnaround is too quick.

Why? It's not like the draft mattered to Shero, he just took best available d man anyways.

Desiato wrote:This team is stacked with assets which puts them in a good position to improve. But I'm a Pens fan win or lose.

Expectations here are crazy. There aren't many better teams to follow than this one. But I'm all for a shake-out to get rid of the Crosby-era bandwagoners. You got a cup out of the deal. Good luck with your next team!

Came back to show this post some love. Truth.

Give me a break. New or old fans it doesn't matter. If they don't like something they're allowed to voice it. You can still be a fan and be angry with the team. So sick of people that "we're here before Crosby" acting like they're better or entitled to more than other fans. Shut it, we're all fans.

I posted that in the midst of emo quits. It's not that any fan is better than another. IMO, it's a fact that all successful teams have fairweather fans that only have a limited tolerance for losing. As a young man, the society I lived in frowned on fans like that.

If this is the end of this core, we got a good run out of them. It was fun. I value the experience. I have no ill will towards those guys at all. They have nothing left to prove to me. And I'm gonna be pretty pissed off when entitled twits insult them after all that.

I tend not to like people who will enjoy the success of another and then turn on them when the well runs dry. So if I've offended that kind of guy, good.

Desiato wrote:This team is stacked with assets which puts them in a good position to improve. But I'm a Pens fan win or lose.

Expectations here are crazy. There aren't many better teams to follow than this one. But I'm all for a shake-out to get rid of the Crosby-era bandwagoners. You got a cup out of the deal. Good luck with your next team!

Came back to show this post some love. Truth.

Give me a break. New or old fans it doesn't matter. If they don't like something they're allowed to voice it. You can still be a fan and be angry with the team. So sick of people that "we're here before Crosby" acting like they're better or entitled to more than other fans. Shut it, we're all fans.

First, "shut it" is a little rude, but I know tempers are high.

Second, it's not the idea that older fans who were here before Crosby are better and younger fans are "lesser." But some fans have seen more by sheer luck of simply being around longer to see more. Some fans have seen more disappointment, more coaches, more crazy systems, more hit/miss draft picks, more drama, more game 7s, more fluke wins, more fluke losses, etc. And from talking to some relatively new fans, I've found that many don't seem to know just how hard it is to win this thing and how much can go wrong. You don't just snap your fingers and win it every other year even if you have the 2 best players in the world. The expectation was set in 2008--early in the Sid/Malkin era--that we'll go to the finals again, and--boom--the next year we win the whole thing. There are two places to go from there: the same level, which is almost impossible, or down, which is, well, what we've been experiencing.

So while I'm as upset as the next fan, and my expectations were high (hell, I really thought they could win it all), I find how some are acting to be way over the top. And this is coming from someone who voiced her anger as "my face feels like it's 125 degrees." But I won't act like a birthright has been taken from me, like I've been wronged, and I'll show the Pens! I'll hold my fanaticism hostage until my "misplaced" devotion is avenged.

Avyran wrote:As many people have said, it's not the loss that's disappointing. It's the manner in which they've lost.

Exactly. Bylsma's record on home ice in the playoffs is a huge concern. Bylsma's record on home ice when faced with the opportunity of eliminating the opponent is also concerning. Bylsma's record on home ice in game 7's is a problem as well.

Blowing 3-1 series leads? Yeah tack that on as well. The lack of offense vs Boston and now the Rangers? Yeah, I guess that's an issue too.

I say Shero stays, but Bylsma has to go. We have a strong stable of upcoming dmen and we have to start using them if they're ready. With Bylsma it's clear that he wants nothing to do with young, upcoming talent. He doesn't develop talent well either, so that's concerning.

I expect a blow up. Bylsma, Neal, Fleury are on the top of the list. IF they can find a taker for Scuderi, I'd hope they're exploring it too.

The way they played the last three games of this series it's almost like they all got together to watch the Montreal/Boston series and decided that they would be better off golfing, or on a beach or playing for their country at the world championships instead.

They were beaten by an inferior opponent, who came together and rallied to support a guy that they barely know, a guy that was a deadline day acquisition for their captain... who had been a complete flop and liability up until his mom died!!!

Yes, tragic for the St. Louis family. But hardly reason for such a change of events.

you are really going to reference the death of st. louis's mom as to the reason he scored more points? st. louis is a good player any day of the week regardless of what happened to him personally. our team is lousy, across the board starting with bylsma. when you are up 3-1 you close the deal, or else change is coming. and i hope it is, because it needed to after last season and it didn't.

bdevido wrote:you are really going to reference the death of st. louis's mom as to the reason he scored more points? st. louis is a good player any day of the week regardless of what happened to him personally. our team is lousy, across the board starting with bylsma. when you are up 3-1 you close the deal, or else change is coming. and i hope it is, because it needed to after last season and it didn't.

Lt. Dish wrote:Second, it's not the idea that older fans who were here before Crosby are better and younger fans are "lesser." But some fans have seen more by sheer luck of simply being around longer to see more. Some fans have seen more disappointment, more coaches, more crazy systems, more hit/miss draft picks, more drama, more game 7s, more fluke wins, more fluke losses, etc. And from talking to some relatively new fans, I've found that many don't seem to know just how hard it is to win this thing and how much can go wrong. You don't just snap your fingers and win it every other year even if you have the 2 best players in the world. The expectation was set in 2008--early in the Sid/Malkin era--that we'll go to the finals again, and--boom--the next year we win the whole thing. There are two places to go from there: the same level, which is almost impossible, or down, which is, well, what we've been experiencing.

So while I'm as upset as the next fan, and my expectations were high (hell, I really thought they could win it all), I find how some are acting to be way over the top. And this is coming from someone who voiced her anger as "my face feels like it's 125 degrees." But I won't act like a birthright has been taken from me, like I've been wronged, and I'll show the Pens! I'll hold my fanaticism hostage until my "misplaced" devotion is avenged.

Fleury was a train wreck in playoffs past. They bring in a new goalie coach and he ups his game. Pens team continue to their playoff derailments, it is no mystery what will happen next. The only question is how high in the organization.

I feel no ill will to HCDB. He was in over his head with this team. Or maybe these guys are unmanageable, I don't know. But it is clearly not working.

My annual expectations are the same - make it the ECF's EVERY YEAR and don't get embarrassed when you bow out. And a Stanley Cup every 3-4 years. Not unreasonable with our core.

It will be interesting to see how the organization handles this. Whether it be a knee jerk "clear the decks" or a several week analysis of our woes.

DEAR GOD! Really?! If DB is not fired I don't think I can watch another train wreck playoff season... I'll just convince myself there is another lockout and not watch hockey all year.

It's May 14! You can't pull the trigger on a firing without a plan to proceed. So, what--they fire him by 7am this morning, and find by August that no one else is available? No, any warm body isn't going to be better. J. Martin can't be counted on as a back-up. Maybe he doesn't want to be a head coach right now (or again).

The team hasn't even cleaned out their lockers yet. I find it absolutely crazy that some feel there should be an announcement this morning!